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239 lines
4.6 KiB
Text
239 lines
4.6 KiB
Text
.LP
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.ce
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.ps 16
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.CW
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FINAL REPORT OF TEAM 34
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.R
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.ps 8
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.CW
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tags: 1991, 1994, federal_grants, nana_mold, paris_mold, piro, plinth_mold, shit_mold, tab2, violet
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.R
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.br
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.ce
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.ps 10
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.B 1
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.PP
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.ps 10
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August, 1994.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Team 34, initial report.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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As dictated by Captain Paris Mold.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Tear down. Clean up. Soft seductions.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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We're always called in on the quiet jobs. The ones with a lot of
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work to be done, preferably without a lot of noise.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I have to admit, the world is a pretty big mess.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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My team is competent. We pack light, so we can cover a lot of
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ground in a short period of time.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Reputation. Dependability.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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We don't deal in names, but we're well known to the people that
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matter.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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We do okay.
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.ce
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.ps 10
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.B 2
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I task three assets to the South Pacific. One to the Chrysler
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Building. I don't trust anyone but myself with Plinth.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Violet continues to elude us.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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We've laid down some perimeter product placement, biding our time.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Nothing is coming up. It's difficult to predict emerging
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demographics, the interactions of different products. And Violet is a
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professional. Humans melt in her hands.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I decide to call my mother.
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.bp
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.ce
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.ps 10
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.B 3
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Barfight! Dipstick! Bricoloage! Go! Go! Go!"
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Mother screams at my men through her mouthpiece. They aren't used
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to hearing her shouting on the wire.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Nana! Where the hell have you been? We're on overtime!"
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.PP
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.ps 10
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A firefight is underway. Clearing old signage means engaging
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Plinth's aerosol defenses. We're prepared, but understaffed.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Keep formation, boys! I'm losing your signal!"
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.PP
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.ps 10
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At least Plinth is alone in this fight. We were careful to remove
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old man Jerrymander from the board, decades prior to the meltdown.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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For her part, Mother keeps a tight handle on the Mold family
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backups.
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.ce
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.ps 10
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.B 4
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.PP
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.ps 10
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February, 1991.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Federal Grants straightens his paperwork and peers deeply into
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Plinth Mold's single working eye.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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There is a subtle click and Mold's head inclines towards Grants.
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The gesture is all but imperceptible.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Why don't you tell me about your childhood."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Dust plays in the sunlight streaming in through the library window.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Have you ever read a book called
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.I
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THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD?"
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.R
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asks Plinth. "A children's piece. Published around 1960."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Fed stifles a guffaw. "Please. I don't read kiddie trash. I've
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never even heard of it."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"My brother Pennis and I\(emwe\(em\fIpublished\fP that book."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Immediately, Grants realizes his tactical error. "I\(emI'm sorry."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"It was a thinly veiled retelling of the origin of our family."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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This is no good. Grants panics, leaps from his seat. "Sir, I\(em"
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"I think we're finished here."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Plinth rises, exits.
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.ce
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.ps 10
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.B 5
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PLINTH'S LOG
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.br
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524780 SECONDS FROM THE EPOCH
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.PP
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.ps 10
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With the last hard boot less than a year in the past, the world is
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already growing crowded. Mostly with clean\-up crews. I assume my
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brother Paris is amongst the rabble.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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There are many starting conditions to seed.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Mother called, earlier today. Clean\-up proceeds apace. Paris
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.I
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is
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.R
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amongst the rabble, but Violet remains hidden. I've asked her not to
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reveal my whereabouts, either, for the time being.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I've also reinstated the Crown. And the Crown has renewed my
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funding.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I'm thinking about re\-spawning Thomas and Piro. They might amuse me
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in this new world.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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And, that's about it. For this month. More after the new year.
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.ce
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.ps 10
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.B 6
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.PP
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.ps 10
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January, 1995.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Team 34, final report.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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As dictated by Captain Paris Mold.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Product placement has been completed. Rulesets have been
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configured. Once customers start populating the layouts, later this
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year, we should start to see good numbers. I think we can handle the
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traffic.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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We've decided to go with a variation on the initial predilections
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from the last iteration. Non\-standard prejudices. These first new
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customers will find themselves inexplicably drawn towards the Asiatic
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races and the flickering of camp fires. There is some debate over
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whether or not a fascination with fire will hamper their survival rate.
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Will they fuck themselves to death before they even get a chance to
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starve? Will the flames and their genitals mix favorably?
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Ha, that's the test, isn't it?
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Still no sign of Violet.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Or my brothers.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Mother has gone quiet.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Ping.
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.ce
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END CRASH ORIGIN
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